The competition is open to any design student or graduate or
anyone working professionally for less than three years in the design industry.
More information, and how to apply, is available on the ARTS
THREAD website. The deadline is midnight (GMT) on 31 July 2013.

Public health campaigning can be seen as the point where
propaganda comes into our homes, and attempts to influence our attitudes about
the activities that are most personal and intimate to us: from the food we
prepare, to our social habits and sexual behaviour. In our exhibition, Propaganda: Power and Persuasion, we
look at the use of propaganda methods and techniques across a range of public
health campaigns, covering healthy eating and exercise; contagious diseases;
smoking and drinking; sexual health; and maternal and infant care.

The media used includes leaflets and posters (the waiting
room can be an ideal opportunity for propaganda), television and film adverts,
instructional manuals, and more ephemeral objects such as match-box covers or a
school diary. As with other subjects,
campaigns can make use of a range of media. The Green
Cross Code road safety campaign used adverts on television, magazines and
on buses, leaflets and posters alongside talks in schools. As well as creating
the Green Cross Code man superhero character, the campaign also made use of
celebrities such as Kevin
Keegan, Alvin
Stardust and Joe Bugner.

Above: The Green Cross Code

The Green Cross Code, and the earlier Kerb Drill, needed to
consider language very carefully. Their intended audience was young children,
so the language used needed to be easy to understand â many children, for
instance, didnât understand the difference between kerb and pavement â and also
memorable. Repetition also proved to be very important, to ensure that children
remembered what they were supposed to do.

For campaigns aimed at adults, memorable language and
reassuring images could also prove useful, as could the use of humour. All of
these can be seen in the current Change4Life
campaign to encourage healthy eating and exercise. Other methods could be
employed too, such as use of fear, demonisation or shocking images. Use of
strong images or messages could be tolerated, so long as there was general
acceptance that the campaign was of public interest. Anti smoking campaigns,
showing a clogged
artery or fat dripping from cigarettes, provide some of the most visceral material
in the exhibition. Another campaign presents the âfirst
natural born smokerâ as a demonic character, whose appearance seems
inspired by Murnauâs Nosferatu.

Above: Beware of the Tapeworm

When we were putting the exhibition together we spoke to a
lot of people, and some challenged us on the âHealthâ section, arguing that
this was âjust informationâ. Indeed, some forms of health campaigning do focus
on providing quite detailed information about risks and ways of mitigating
them. However, we also found many examples, which we included in the
exhibition, where either the information element was almost absent or where the
presentation was anything other than straightforward. The use of methods, such
as shocking, humour, and demonisation, reminded us of examples of propaganda we
had seen in other situations where it is less contentious to identify
propaganda. Which does leave the question: if itâs not propaganda, how would
you describe it?

Our Social Sciences intern, Abiola Olanipekun, responds to the Propaganda: Power and
Persuasion exhibition at the British Library.

âIt is the mark of an educated mind to be able to
entertain a thought without accepting it.â Aristotle

Are these the
kinds of minds targeted by propaganda? Something tells me that Aristotle may have
considered himself to be in a different class to those who accept propaganda. Yet,
the new exhibition at the British Library shows that we can all be vulnerable
to the methods and cunning of propaganda.

Damn,
Aristotle came out with some the best quotes! I could only dream of writing such
titbits of timeless wisdom. I can however, write a blog about our latest exhibition
and my responses to itâŚ

Propaganda,
Power & Persuasion
opened to the public on the 17 May 2013 and will be on for four months. I
wasnât actually sure I would get the opportunity to write about this exhibition
as my internship was due to end, and I imagined that by now I would be back in
the land of career uncertainty (or even dire unemployment). Luckily I have been
given the lifeline of an extended contract and now have a few more months to
undertake mischief[i] within
Social Sciences (or at the very least upload some more useful articles onto the
Management and Business Studies Portal).

Propaganda: Power and Persuasion documents the relationship between the
State, the propaganda it has produced in the twentieth century, and the
intended audiences of this propaganda. Many of the key themes of State propaganda
are covered including war, health, sport and education. Iconic images, old and
new, are present within this thought-provoking and visually stunning
exhibition.

Above: Freedom American-style, 1971. B. Prorokov.

Freedom American-style, 1971, B. Prorokov

The
exhibition includes such variety as Chorus
(the Twitter wall produced by Field) and the Russian poster depicting âFreedom
American Styleâ from the 70s, to public health messages about the care of
babies and children. Recent British forms of what might be considered
propaganda are included, such as audio clips from the Diamond Jubilee and footage
from the recent funeral of Margaret Thatcher.
And letâs not forget the inspiring
portraits of sporting heroes who offer the potential of shared national feeling,
the moral and ethical guidance inherent to the language of health education,
and the tactics of attempted humiliation used to flatten the enemy in times of
war.

The variety
within the exhibition offered me an alternative to my preconceived ideas about
what propaganda is. It presents a broad spectrum of State propaganda but at the
same time, reveals the core of what State propaganda has been about during the
last hundred years or so. It also shows how propaganda has arguably become more
insidious and cunning as technology has developed. I was caught by the tension
between how we are at once the active consumers of propaganda and at the same
time hapless victims.

As you walk
around the exhibition you will see human statues engraved with different
quotations about propaganda. These quotations help build the picture of how the
State affects our behaviour through sometimes playful and occasionally sinister
means. The videos and
sound clips from experts and analysts of propaganda show how indoctrination can
occur through seemingly innocuous methods. I urge you to go and see the
exhibition. Take your siblings, parents or your grandparents who will each have
lived through different phases in State propaganda.

The Guardian recently showcased a number of sexual
health posters from the Second World War. These posters
may not be in the exhibition, but some are of the kind that are included and also
show all the silliness as well as biases and prejudices which can be part of
State propaganda.

Oh, and if
you feel you are beyond the reach of the propaganda that might have others
fooled, then here is a final little quote for you:

âThose who are able to see beyond the
shadows and lies of their culture will never be understood, let alone believed,
by the masses.â Plato

Abiola Olanipekun is an Intern in
the Social Sciences department, working with the Business collections and the
Management and Business Studies Portal. All views expressed are her own. You can follow
Abiola on Twitter @Ola_Ola1 -
See more at:
http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/socialscience/2013/03/generation-y-not-a-view-from-a-y-member.html#sthash.XEiUhUPp.dpuf

Ian Cooke,
Lead Curator in International Studies and Politics at the British
Library and co-curator of the Propaganda: Power and Persuasion
exhibition, examines different views and expresions of British Identity -
See more at:
http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/socialscience/#sthash.IKhduRpX.dpuf

Ian Cooke,
Lead Curator in International Studies and Politics at the British
Library and co-curator of the Propaganda: Power and Persuasion
exhibition, examines different views and expresions of British Identity -
See more at:
http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/socialscience/#sthash.IKhduRpX.dpufThis Friday evening, the British Library is screening
Sergei Eisensteinâs Strike, the
1925 Soviet film depicting the savage repression of a strike at a factory in
pre-revolutionary Russia.
Live musical accompaniment will be provided by The Cabinet of Living Cinema.
The film will be introduced by Professor
Ian Christie, Birkbeck
College. Ian Christie is
Vice President of Europa Cinemas and co-founder of the international review Film Studies.

Ian Cooke, co-curator of Propaganda: Power and Persuasion writes about Eisenstein's 1925 film Stike which will be shown at the British Library, in collaboration with the BFI, on Friday 14 June.

This Friday evening, the British Library is screening
Sergei Eisensteinâs Strike, the
1925 Soviet film depicting the savage repression of a strike at a factory in
pre-revolutionary Russia.
Live musical accompaniment will be provided by The Cabinet of Living Cinema.
The film will be introduced by Professor
Ian Christie, Birkbeck
College. Ian Christie is
Vice President of Europa Cinemas and co-founder of the international review Film Studies.

Strike was
Eisensteinâs first full-length feature film, and was followed within the year
by Battleship Potemkin, which depicts
the events of a mutiny of the crew against Tsarist officers in 1905. Those
paying close attention to the screens at the start of the Nation section of our
Propaganda exhibition, will see a
short clip from October: Ten Days that
Shook the World, the film which Eisenstein was commissioned to write and
direct by the Soviet government in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of
the October revolution.

Above: a still from Strike

At the time of that commission, Eisenstein had already
achieved great success internationally, particularly with Battleship Potemkin, a film which is still critically praised
today. The use of critically acclaimed directors, artists and writers in the
production of propaganda is a common theme that runs through our exhibition. In
the early Soviet Union, artists associated
with the Avant Garde were valued for their ability to communicate technical and
social advances in the new state. Our exhibition shows an issue of USSR in Construction (to which Rodchenko contributed
photography, photomontage and design) devoted to the subject of sport. For the
1928 International Press exhibition in Cologne,
El Lissitzky
created the dynamic and modern designs for the Soviet pavilion, which are
printed in a long fold-out insert to the accompanying catalogue.

Commercial success could be as important as artistic, at
times blurring any distinction between advertising and propaganda. The
Empire Marketing Board (EMB), which operated between 1926 and 1933, drew
heavily on the expertise from the advertising industry. The EMB was an advisory
committee, chaired by the Secretary of State for the Dominions, with the aim of
promoting the production and sale of British and Empire goods. Their activities
ranged from research and development, to organising âbuy Empire goodsâ
campaigns in shops, to the production of huge advertising posters and films.
You can see an EMB poster and film in our exhibition. The organisation of the
Board drew in leading advertisers such as William Crawford and Frank Pick, who
had organised publicity for the Metropolitan District Railway. The influence of Pick can be
seen in the artistic style, and artists commissioned, in the production of EMB
posters.

Much of the talent and experience of the Empire Marketing
Board transferred to the General Post Office publicity, including their film
unit. If you visit our Poetry in Sound
exhibition, youâll see a magnificent example of this in the film Night Mail (1936),
which shows the journey through Scotland
of a Royal Mail train delivery service, set to poetry by W H Auden and music by
Benjamin Britten.

The influence of commercial, and commercially successful,
artists and advertisers can be seen also in war propaganda in the USA. Montgomery
Flaggâs depiction of Uncle Sam served as an iconic image of recruitment during
the First World War. As Carole
Holden reveals on the Americas studies blog, the image was modelled on
Flaggâs own features. Norman Rockwellâs âFour Freedomsâ series of posters
helped raise over 130 million dollars in war bonds.

The use of successful film makers and artists in producing
public information and campaigns material can be seen more recently. Nicolas Roeg,
famous for films such as Donât Look Now
(1973), Performance (1970) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), was one
of the directors of the AIDS awareness adverts shown in the UK in 1987. The campaign has been
described as effective in keeping HIV infection rates comparatively low in the UK during that
period.

More recently, the 2008 election campaign for Barack Obama
used artwork produced by the street artist Shepard Fairey. The âHopeâ
poster became a well-recognised and widely-distributed symbol of the Obama
campaign.

The use of celebrated artists in the production of materials
designed to persuade and influence reflects both the recognition of the
importance of propaganda, and also the realisation that, to be effective, it
had to use styles and products that were innovative and recognised as being of
high quality.

Ian Cooke, Lead Curator in International Studies and Politics at the British Library and co-curator of the Propaganda: Power and Persuasion exhibition, examines different views and expresions of British Identity.

In our exhibition Propaganda:
Power and Persuasion, we look at different ways in which British identity
has been presented, both to domestic and to international audiences. From
images of Empire used in stunning Empire
Marketing Board posters, through the Festival of Britain to last yearâs
diamond jubilee and the Olympic Games, the nature of Britain and British people
has been described in different ways. In some cases, you can see similarities
such as a focus on technical and cultural innovation, but what can differ is
the people used to represent Britain. Weâve just posted to YouTube our interviews with Tessa Jowell,
Alastair Campbell and Iain Dale, on bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games, and
their impact on perceptions of Britain.

Earlier this week, the 60th anniversary of the
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was commemorated at a service at Westminster
Abbey. The readings and addresses were given by those representing the highest
levels of state â the Prime Minister, Archbishop of Canterbury and Secretary
General of the Commonwealth. The service also included however 11
ârepresentatives of the United Kingdomâ. These archetypes of Britishness included
a nurse, a teacher, a judge, a âlollipop ladyâ, children, Chelsea Pensioners,
and a Guide leader.

Although some of the choices seem a little old fashioned,
the range of young and old, the use of health and education alongside
representatives of law and military, were not that far removed from the vision
of Britain presented at the London Olympic Games. The bid film, shown in our
exhibition, presents images of school children, construction workers, air
stewards, police officers and city workers (in bowler hats). The inclusion,
among several celebrities, of the then London Mayor and the actress Helen
Mirren provides a sense of symmetry with the coronation celebrations.

British identity as viewed from the US: street art outside the Mr Brainwash Show, The Old Sorting Office, London. August 2012. Image courtesy of Ian Cooke.

Last week, at our Picturing Propaganda study day, Linda Kaye
of the British Universities Film and Video
Council showed a clip from Jeremy Dellerâs stunning English Magic.
Deller, and English Magic, is
representing Britain at the 2013
Venice Biennale. The British pavilion is sponsored by the British Council, and
the film references work such as an inflatable Stonehenge, birds of prey, and
Range Rovers being crushed. The last segment has footage from the London Lord
Mayorâs Show, featuring a military parade, ambulance workers, tax advisers,
London Freemasons, the Institute of Directors, and a carnival float sponsored
by Thomson Reuters. All of this is accompanied by an arrangement of David
Bowieâs The Man who Sold the World,
played by the Melodian Steel Orchestra. Music plays a powerful role in the
whole film, which also includes arrangements of Ralph Vaughan Williamsâ Symphony no. 5, and A Guy Called Geraldâs
Voodoo Ray. Interviewed in the Summer 2013 issue of Art Quarterly, Deller explains the
choice of title, âbecause itâs about
deceit and concealment and disappearanceâ, seeing related themes in tax
avoidance, and justifying war in Iraq.

Finally, a rather different, but oddly traditional view of
London is presented on the Southbank with the Festival
of Neighbourhood. The events are wonderfully diverse, and aimed at a
variety of ages and tastes. The setting draws on various nostalgic themes, such
as allotments, sandcastles, greenhouses, street parties and âBeanotownâ. Nobody
going past Waterloo Bridge at the moment can miss the monumental âsweepersâ,
seemingly made out of privet hedge.

So, what do these different views say about our view of
Britain? To an extent, these examples all show a confidence and pride in
British culture, although there may not be complete agreement on what that is.
Thereâs a sense of recognising and valuing diversity, whether thatâs in age or
cultural backgrounds. Thereâs also a sense of pleasure or nostalgia in
tradition, but also a willingness to play with and adapt those traditions.
Attitudes to other aspects, such as the traditional sources of wealth or power
in Britain seem more ambivalent and unsettled. The title of this yearâs show at
the British Pavilion of the Venice Biennale, âEnglish Magicâ, provokes the question of whose identity is
represented as âBritishâ?

Posted by John Kaye at 4:37 PM

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In this post Andrew Dixon, Lead Curator for Management and Business Studies, writes about his engagement activities with Management and Business Studies researchers and asks how we can support the Business History research community

It has now been almost six months since I took up my present role at the British Library. This personal landmark seems like a good reason to share some thoughts about how the British Library has been engaging with the MBS research community (here at the Library we refer to the subject as Management and Business Studies or MBS for short). The phrase âMBS research communityâ is perhaps a misnomer as it implies that there is one heterogeneous group of like-minded, like-funded and like-reported researchers and projects. In fact members of the business and management community are a diverse bunch whose interests range from post modernist critiques of capitalism to full on number crunching of raw economic datasets. Still, this diversity makes for an interesting life and one thing that they do all seem to have in common is that they like to share their thoughts and opinions.

To give some examples of how we try to engage with the MBS research community for this subject, I have attended a number of meetings and events in order to build contacts and tap into the collective wisdom of academics, policy makers, students, practitioners and stakeholders. The overriding purpose of these activities has been to engage with our readers to help make informed decisions about how best to develop coherent collections to meet their researchneeds. Some of these activities have been hosted at the British Library such as the Open Access event that marked the end of my first week in post. This resulted in a number of contacts that were to prove useful as time progressed. Attending the Annual Research Conference of the Association of Business Schools held at Lancaster University was another useful exercise. My colleague Sally Halper and I had the opportunity to give a presentation on the MBS resources at the British Library, to explain our content strategy and to elicit opinions about how best to meet the research needs of the business schools. This event formed part of a pattern with others undertaken along with colleagues. These included a presentation about the Business & IP Centre, a Library facility that supports entrepreneurs and innovators in launching and developing businesses, at Brunel University and participation in a Study Conference at Kingston University. These reinforced our view that there is a large demand from business and management academics for resources that support specialist research rather than the teaching and learning support often offered by their own institutional libraries. The British Library as a national library has a vital role to play in this. Of particular interest to participants across events were the implications of the coming into force of the Non Print Legal Deposit regime, British Library plans to engage with Open Access and the use of the British Library MBS Portal as a means of doing this.

Another more specific project that I have been involved in is a review of how we can support the Business History research community. Anecdotal evidence suggests this group have been seen as âfalling in the gapâ between MBS and History research support. As a practical first step we have targeted the development our annual report collection as a type of resource that is particularly valued by many business and management historians. To this end I have conducted focus groups and targeted interviews with business historians and other stakeholders with a particular interest in using such material. The Library has traditionally received a large amount of such items but in a rather uncoordinated way as annual reports have not been covered by legal deposit and active collecting had tended to be focused on the leading FTSE companies. Other material has, however, found its way into the collection often as part of donations of wider collections relating to companies or industries. So far we have received a variety of opinions as to how best configure and develop our holdings so as to make them of most use to researchers. Widely proffered opinions have included that we should build collections around industries and sectors across time and that we attempt to develop holdings for the âlost yearsâ from the mid sixties to the end of the century where this kind of material can be particularly difficult to find. We are also investigating how researchers react to digital storage and provision for such collections.

This is very much an ongoing consultation so if you would like to offer your opinion individually or take part in one of the forthcoming focus groups then please do contact me, preferably by the end of June, atandrew.dixon@bl.ukand we can find the best way to feed your ideas into the process.Indeed, do feel free to contact me on more general MBS related topics as well. A part of the purpose of all of the activities outlined above and of others that are taking place in the Library is to engage with our users to sense-check that our actions will lead to outcomes that help them to access and exploit our unique resources and collections to best effect. We are always keen to hear from those in the MBS community, be they students, academics or practitioners, who want to contribute to this ongoing process.